A pipe hanger is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,497. Such hangers are also known as “Clevis hangers”. The Clevis hanger has a round hole in the upper hanger part, through which the hanger can be attached to a threaded rod suspended from a ceiling or other overhead support. The upper hanger part is attached to the rod by means of two nuts. After that the lower part of the hanger can be fastened to the upper part. The upper hanger part and lower hanger part are separated completely and the pipe is laid into the lower hanger part. The holes in the legs of the upper and lower hanger parts are aligned and then the locking bolt has to be inserted to close the hanger and connect the upper and lower hanger parts. While this structure with a transverse bolt extending through the hanger provides a rigid and solid hanger, the installation of the hanger may be cumbersome, because the weight of the pipe is already resting on the lower hanger part and the user has to hold the lower part with the pipe resting on it while the bolt is inserted.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,322,662 discloses in FIGS. 8-20 a pipe hanger without a locking bolt. This known pipe hanger instead has a snap closed feature which provides an easier installation than the hanger of U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,497. The lower hanger part is on one side pivotally connected to the upper hanger part such that a pipe can be supported by the lower hanger part when the hanger is still in an open state. The lower part can then be pivoted upward with the pipe and snap closed. The snap closing structure of this pipe hanger requires however that the lower hanger part is bendable such that the legs of the lower part can be compressed together. This pipe hanger provides a less rigid and less solid hanging structure for the pipe.
The invention has for an object to provide a pipe hanger which allows an easier installation as the known Clevis hanger while at the same time it constitutes a rigid and solid structure when the hanger is installed with a pipe in it.